Weekly CPU & Video Card Price Guide: April 2001 2nd Edition

AnandTech Weekly Video Card Prices
Video Card Model	Price	Change	Vendor	Shipping	Promotion
3dfx Voodoo5 5500 AGP	$119	$0	MWave	Check Vendor
3dfx Voodoo5 5500 PCI	$148	$16	Axion Technologies	$9
3dfx Voodoo4 4500 AGP	$69	$16	Adamant Computers	$9
3dfx Voodoo4 4500 PCI	$74	$11	Adamant Computers	$9
3dfx Voodoo3 3500TV AGP	$60	$9	Adamant Computers	$9
ATI RADEON 64MB DDR	$165	$0	Essential Computer	$12	OEM
ATI RADEON 32MB DDR (Retail)	$146	$4	MWave	NA
ATI RADEON 32MB DDR LE (OEM)	$73	$0	Jazz Technology	$11
ATI RADEON 32MB VE	$80	$2	Neutron	$7	OEM
ATI RADEON 32MB SDR	$79	$5	Comp-U-Plus	$15
ATI RADEON ALL-IN-WONDER	$210	$3	Newegg.com	Check Vendor	OEM
NVIDIA GeForce2 ULTRA 64MB	$299	$26	Neutron	$7	LeadTek
NVIDIA GeForce2 PRO 64MB	$194	$15	Newegg.com	Check Vendor	MSI
NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS 64MB	$199	$29	Newegg.com	Check Vendor	LeadTek
NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS 32MB	$132	$8	Newegg.com	Check Vendor	MSI
NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS 32MB VIVO (ASUS V7700 Deluxe)	$175	$20	Atacom	$10
NVIDIA GeForce2 MX400 64MB	$125	NA	Essential Computer	$12	Retail
NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 32MB	$75	$14	Newegg.com	Check Vendor	MSI
PowerVR KYRO 64MB	$89	$0	Shentech	$8
Matrox G450 32MB (DualHead)	$93	$6	Essential Computer	$12
Matrox G400 32MB	$109	$0	MWave	NA

The reader should note that 3dfx's acquisition by NVIDIA will result in them not being able to provide support for their cards, so purchase a Voodoo3/4/5 card at your own risk. The Voodoo5 5500 PCI rose in price $16 this week, putting it at $148. This card is still a great deal for those without AGP cards wanting decent 3D acceleration. Also, the Voodoo3 3500 TV continues to be an excellent bargain for those wanting to add TV input and output to their PCs and are not concerned with 3D performance.

This week we saw little change in the ATI lineup of cards. The Radeon VE saw a $2 price drop this week. We recommend the VE over the standard SDR Radeon because of its dual display capabilities, but be warned that it is significantly slower in 3D performance.

We should note that several readers have pointed out that there are a few major differences between the Radeon 32MB DDR (Retail) and the Radeon 32MB DDR LE (OEM) which many online retailers fail to point out. The Radeon LE is actually a crippled version of the Retail card and does not feature ATI's Hyper-Z technology. It is important that readers understand this because Hyper-Z can have a significant effect on performance. The Radeon LE was originally meant to be an OEM product for some of the Asian markets. However the success of the product in those markets was overestimated and ATI was forced to bring the product to the North American market. The Radeon LE chips are generally composed of those chips that fail to work properly as fully functional Radeon solutions, meaning that they are often clocked at lower core frequencies and may not have fully functional HyperZ units. Many readers have been reporting success with overclocking their Radeon LEs as well as by forcing HyperZ to be enabled on the boards however proceed with your own risk as there are no guarantees. For more information consult the AnandTech Forums.

As for NVIDIA, we see a overall downward price trend in all their cards. The GeForce2 ULTRA saw a $26 price drop putting it at $299. We expect the Ultra's price to drop significantly one the GeForce 3 finally hits the streets. The Pro dropped $15, putting it at $194. We'd recommend this card over the standard 64MB GTS because it uses faster DDR memory (200MHz DDR) which alleviates some of the memory bandwidth limitations found in the regular GTS cards. For low-end NVIDIA lineup, we see the new GeForce2 MX 400. We still recommend the regular GeForce2 MX over the MX 400 because there is very little performance between the two. Basically, go for which ever is cheaper.

The PowerVR KYRO 64MB saw no change in price this week. This card is a unique alternative to the 3dfx Voodoo and NVIDIA GeForce cards. What makes this card unique is it's tile based rendering engine. If you are interested in the Kyro, we suggest you wait until the Kyro II kits the shelves later this month. The Kyro II offer's GeForce2 GTS (and in some cases, even ULTRA levels) performance at an estimated street price of $150. Hercules has said that their Kyro II based card will be released on May 16th.

The Matrox line of cards saw minimal changes in price this week. Those looking for excellent dual display capability may wish to purchase the Matrox G450 card as it has proven itself well in this category. For more information check out our Dual Display Comparison.

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